Former President Zardari asked to intervene to save Keenjhar

A not-for-profit organisation has requested former president Asif Ali Zardari to form a commission to assess the effects of effluent dumped in Keenjhar Lake and to take action against all those responsible.

The letter was sent by Haleem Adil Sheikh, the chairman of Pakistan Relief Foundation (PRF), on Saturday. The organisation has already filed a petition in the Sindh High Court against the rising pollution at the lake. The court has set December 3 for the next hearing. The petition said the discharge of industrial waste and sewage into the lake was causing various diseases and environmental hazards dangerous for aquatic species. It also criticised inaction on the part of the government functionaries to ensure the provision of safe drinking water. In the letter, Sheikh asked the Pakistan People’s Party chief for remedial actions to be taken to save the lake, which serves as the primary source of drinking water to Karachi. In the 10-point recommendations, Zardari has been requested to direct the relevant authorities to close all inlets of sewage falling into the Kalri-Baghar (KB) Feeder along its 115km route from Kotri Barrage till the Keenjhar Lake. The letter calls for instructing the water and sewerage board to set up water testing laboratories to regularly check the water quality and ensure supply of safe water to the people of Karachi. Sheikh also suggested taking action against industries in Nooriabad and Kotri to stop wastewater dumping in the freshwater lake and directing the authorities to ensure proper treatment plants were established in all industrial units, which must discharge their waste after proper treatment. He demanded action against negligent officers of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board for not treating and properly chlorinating the drinking water before supply to Karachi. The PRF chairman called for immediate action to save the lives of Karachiites using the contaminated water, and also resolving the issue of Right Bank Outfall Drain-2 (RBOD) to divert the hazardous waste from Manchar Lake from RBOD-3 and RBOD-2.